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   Unknown Leaders Greenfield: A new Barna Group poll has found that "Major Christian Leaders Are Widely Unknown, Even Among Christians." In alarming fashion, the evangelical Group's president, George Barna, interpreted the findings to mean "that Christianity is losing its grip on American... [ Continue reading: ]  Helluva Play From Thornton, Colorado to Brooklyn, New York, Hell House performances defy neat boundaries between audience and performer, secular culture and religious event. By Ann Pellegrini [ Continue reading: ]  Nicaragua's Ban on Abortion Nicole Greenfield: In a Revealer piece posted yesterday, Nora Connor critiqued major U.S. papers for not reporting the religion part of Daniel Ortega's recent presidential campaign and (re)election. She specifically cited Ortega's push to pass a bill banning abortion in... [ Continue reading: ] A Variation on Old Themes Nora Connor: The midterm elections in the U.S. weren't the only ones loaded with the rhetoric of faith, but if you've been reading the newspaper, you could be forgiven for thinking that Nicaragua's presidential election, which took place on November 5, was all about the Cold War. [ Continue reading: ]  Velvet Revolution in Iran? Greenfield: Martin Beck Matustik, a Czech-born professor of Philosophy at Purdue, makes a connection between pre-1989 dissidents in Prague and Iranian philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo, who has become a leader in Iran's nonviolent, democratic movement. He argues that "The specter of... [ Continue reading: ]  Red State Revealer Radio Revealer editor Jeff Sharlet will be discussing his December Harper's essay "Through a Glass, Darkly: How the Christian Right is Reimagining American History" with Texans and Utahns on Monday, November 27th. Both shows are online. Texas: "Think" with Krys Boyd, on KERA, noon Dallas time (1 p.m., EST); Utah: "RadioActive", on KRCL, "Radio Free Utah," at noon, Salt Lake City time (2 p.m., EST). The article won't be online until the magazine is off the newsstand, but blogger Prairie Weather has posted a good chunk of it. [ Continue reading: ] Madonna on the Cross, Again S. Brent Plate: Madonna is on the cross again. Though if you were one of the millions with nothing better to do on the eve of Thanksgiving than tune into NBC, you missed it. [ Continue reading: ]  Parsing the Veil Christina Huh:In the midst of the battle over Muslim head coverings – most recently, the Dutch government’s proposed ban on the burqa – a variety of Muslim views have begun to appear in the press. [ Continue reading: ]  Gospel Explosion! Greenfield: Gospel Information Explosion! A group of evangelical Christians want you to "help save Wal-Mart from the radical homosexual agenda" this Black Friday.... [ Continue reading: ]  Reporting Canada's Christian Right Rawan Jabaji highlights the shortcomings of a recent New York Times piece and asks the questions its reporter didn't. [ Continue reading: ] Isn't It Ironic? Greenfield: Rick Warren denies making politcal statements to the state-run Syrian media during a recent visit to the country. In a letter to his congregation, Warren wrote: "Of course, that's ridiculous, but it created a stir among bloggers who tend... [ Continue reading: ] Forgetting the Religion Nicole Greenfield: The Washington Post completely missed the religion part of a religion story published in today's paper. [ Continue reading: ] South Park Takes On Richard Dawkins Daniel Sorrell: Given a public figure on a high horse with a pompous, in-your-face manner, sooner or later South Park will point its satirical barbs in their direction. In a recent two-part episode, Dawkins came under heavy fire for his belligerent atheism and hyper-rational tirades against religion... [ Continue reading: ]  Steve Earle's Brother Knew Ted Haggard Was Gay Jeff Sharlet: Revealer radio: First up, West Coast Revealer editor Peter Manseau on tonight's (Sunday, Nov. 19) "All Things Considered" with a commentary titled "Life as a Monk is a Constant Temptation." Peter's not trying to tell us something personal -- he's a happily married dad, but as the son of a Catholic priest, he knows a thing or two about celibacy and its discontents, in the news due to the Vatican's shocking re-affirmation of no-naughy for the priesthood. Tomorrow (Mon., Nov. 20): me, on Air America's "Rachel Maddow Show," discussing "Through a Glass, Darkly: How the Christian Right is Reimagining U.S. History," in the December issue of Harper's Last and -- let's be honest -- least, the "KGB Bar Radio Hour", hosted by Mark Jacobson and Miki the MILF, with special guests 70s porn star Jamie Gillis, two Houdini biographers, me -- and surprise guest Steve Earle, one of my musical heroes and of special interest to Revealer readers for his 2002 song, "John Walker Blues." How did I earn a spot in such company? By not knowing that Ted Haggard was gay. But Steve Earle's brother, who works at the Colorado Springs airport, did. [ Continue reading: ]  God Bless Canada In today's NY Times: "Gay Marriage Galvanizes Canada's Religious Right." This is the latest in a growing file of stories about Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the movement that helped put him in power. Next to Harper, Bush is... [ Continue reading: ]  NYT, Speaking in Tongues Jacqueline Schneider: For those who know little about science but love being the expert on everything, The New York Times’ “Science Section” provides empirical data in bite-sized packages. The palatable narratives usually simplify highly nuanced studies and offer entry into the field’s most recent and exciting developments. Perfect for the latest study that shows wine is bad for you, or how some Peruvian rodent’s nest provides us with carbon dating information. But that every facet of human life can be measured by this data is as insular a form of analysis as applying biblical minutia to prove Harry Potter is the anti-Christ... [ Continue reading: ]  The Perceived Threat Blaire Molitor:It appears there is no greater transgression in America than atheism. In his article for U.S. News & World Report, Jay Tolson makes little attempt to hide his distaste for atheists such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. The piece, initially presented as an examination of the current popularity of books with atheist themes, ultimately attempts to undermine every issue atheists explore. [ Continue reading: ]  Al Jazeera English Nicole Greenfield: Al Jazeera English made its on-air debut today with high hopes of becoming "the first non-Western source to challenge the global info-supremacy of CNN and the BBC." But don't expect to see it show up on your channel... [ Continue reading: ] Inherently Disordered U.S. bishops to gays: we welcome you, just as long as you don't have sex.... [ Continue reading: ]  War on Thanksgiving? Greenfield: A war on Thanksgiving? Quoting Abe Lincoln, Eric Reed pleas for our "thankless society" to forget football and shopping and start contemplating "our blessings and their divine origin."... [ Continue reading: ] The Gallery of Fallen Leaders Nicole Greenfield: In an attempt to bring some kind of normalcy to Ted Haggard's fall, Beliefnet has put together a "Gallery of Fallen Religious Leaders" -- photos and profiles of twelve others who have "engaged in behavior contradictory to their teachings." [ Continue reading: ]  Arrows for the War Kathryn Joyce: The Christian "Quiverfull" movement measures a mother's spiritual resolve by the number of children she raises, each one an arrow in the quiver of God's army. [ Continue reading: ]  Lou & Ted's Excellent Conversation Rev. Lou Sheldon, president of the ironically-named Traditional Values Coalition: I knew Ted Haggard was a homo! [ Continue reading: ] The Aristocrat Jeff Sharlet: John Wilson, writing from "one of the nerve centers of the evangelical conspiracy" -- he's the editor of Books and Culture, evangelicalism's New York Review of Books -- makes an admirable effort to debunk the secular liberal conception... [ Continue reading: ]  A New Atheism? Cliff Helm:A recent package of articles from Wired explores the philosophy of the intellectual movement known as New Atheism. With “Battle of the New Atheism,” contributing editor Gary Wolf delves into the principles and possibilities of what is sometimes called the “fundamental atheism.” Trying to understand the reason and logic of the movement, Wolf assumes the role of “spiritual” journeyman, and discovers that New Atheism comes with its own set of absurdities. [ Continue reading: ]  Ellen Willis, 1941-2006: Sex and Hope and Rock and Roll Ellen Willis, one of The Revealer's favorite journalists, died today of lung cancer, at age 65... [ Continue reading: ] There's Something About Muslims Bridget Purcell: "There must be something about the Jews; they upset me physically." This is how Sartre summarized the anti-Semite's position in his 1946 indictment of anti-Semitism, Reflexion sur la Question Juive. This argument, which he encountered "thousands of times" in mid-20th century Europe, cites feelings of discomfort with Jewish culture as evidence that there is something objectively alien and suspicious about it. Sixty years later, a similar logic runs through the debate over the place of Muslims in European culture. [ Continue reading: ] The Harder They Fall Jonathan Ebel and Anthea Butler, historians of American religion, review the week in God, XXX edition (starring Rush Limbaugh and Ted Haggard).< [ Continue reading: ]  The Bimo Records Join Center for Religion and Media co-director Angela Zito this Saturday, November 11, at the American Museum of Natural History where she will introduce Chinese director Yang Rui's film and lead the Q and A discussion with Rui after the screening. The film is called "The Bimo Records" and will be screened at 12:45 pm as part of the Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival at the Museum. It is a "beautiful documentary film about the lives and communities of three shaman's in China's southwest: the good-magic shaman, the revenge-magic shaman and the Communist cadre shaman." This event is sure to engage, educate, and inspire. You don't want to miss it. For more information and details, click on the link above. [ Continue reading: ] The Trials and Tribulations of Ted Haggard Christie Rizk traces the narrative arc of Ted Haggard's downfall and wonders if the media will ever see the bigger story. [ Continue reading: ]  Foreigner’s Gifts to Afghanistan* Abubakar Siddique: Five years after the October 7, 2001 US-led military coalition attack on the Taliban and the al-Qaida army they hosted in the parts of Afghanistan they ruled, Afghans are the fodder of endless wars in this Central Asian highland. [ Continue reading: ]  The Times Misses Again Rhea Saran: In the midst of heated debate about whether practicing Muslim women should be allowed to wear full veils in Britain – and what that means for integration – came an article in the New York Times, titled “Islamic Schools Test Ideal of Integration in Britain” (October 15th). It seemed a natural branch out from the central issue of integration, except that, after reading the piece, one felt that a more apt headline would have been: "Fear and Resentment put Islamic School Funding in Jeopardy" -- if only the writer had acknowledged that as being the main issue surrounding the debate. [ Continue reading: ] An Eruv Runs Through It Joshua Francis: The construction of an eruv is stirring some controversy in several West Los Angeles beach communities, according to the Los Angeles Times. An eruv in Jewish tradition is a “living barrier” that creates an area in which Orthodox Jews can perform certain acts on the Sabbath. Yet the report is a bit unclear as to the purpose of the eruv, and fails to provide background on the religious reasoning behind it. [ Continue reading: ]  The Haggard's Tale Sharlet: The Ted Haggard confessions continue. Haggard, the former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, now admits to having sought a "massage" and to having purchased meth, although he says he threw it away. His home church, the 14,000-strong... [ Continue reading: ]  James v. Hubbard J.C Hallman visits a Scientology Center, with William James on the mind. [ Continue reading: ] Haggard's Downfall Jeff Sharlet: I was relaxing this afternoon, watching an episode of Big Love, the HBO series starring Bill Paxton as a Mormon hiding his polygamous life, when I heard from from "The Peter Boyles Show" in Denver: "Your buddy Ted Haggard's in a shit storm." [ Continue reading: ] Election Polemics Markus Dressler on Congressman Peter King's Sufi connection to anti-Islamic bigotry. [ Continue reading: ] |